The Supreme Court granted a brief respite to Amazon on Friday, scheduling the final hearing on a plea filed by the e-commerce giant for December. The Competition Commission of India had imposed a ₹202-crore penalty on the company over its 2019 deal with Future Coupons. The apex court said that the ‘protection’ provided to the US-based firm will continue till the next hearing.
A bench of Justice AS Bopanna and Justice MM Sundresh said that the matter would be listed for a a non-miscellaneous day during first week of December 2023. In the meantime, the interim order would remain in place. The top court had granted Amazon a stay in May this year, and later extended it in July.
CCI had suspended the Future Group-Amazon deal in 2021 and imposed a penalty of ₹202 crore for failing to announce the shareholder agreement involving Future Retail. The Competition Commision contends that Amazon had feigned interest in Future Coupons in a bid to enter India’s retail business. The e-commerce giant, it contended, had failed to identify and notify strategic interest in Future Retail at the time.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission will reportedly file an antitrust case against Amazon’s massive online retail operations in federal court as soon as Tuesday. The complaint is expected to focus on how Amazon’s pricing policies, already the subject of a suit by California’s attorney general, Prime and allegations the company illegally ties merchant access to its marketplace to use of its logistics service.
The move has been has been expected after years of complaints that the big tech companies abused their dominance. According to a Reuters report citing sources, the FTC has sent a draft complaint to the states trying to get them to sign on – a step that generally indicates a lawsuit is close to being filed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Updated: 23 Sep 2023, 12:35 AM IST